What Wakes Me Up/Moccasin Tracks presents:
What Wakes Me Up episode 2
Our guest is the storied Ana Edwards. This was recorded at Richmond Friends Meeting in May, 2024 when Peace & Social Concerns invited her to tell the history of racism in Richmond and in Virginia.
Ana Edwards founded and led the Friends of Mali, a project of the Richmond Sister Cities Commission formed to promote education and cultural engagement between the cities of Richmond, Virginia and Segou, Mali, which continues today.
She founded and led the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project whose mission is to draw the connections of past to present into a stronger web of knowledge and planning for the future. This Reclamation Project began with the Defenders of Freedom, Justice and Equality and is still engaged in the community struggle to preserve and memorialize historic Shockoe Bottom through the establishment of a nine-acre memorial park and educational campus.
From 2005-2013, Edwards produced and hosted DefendersLIVE, a local news/talk radio program on WRIR 97.3 LP FM, and since 2005 has served om the editorial board of The Virginia Defender, a quarterly community newspaper, along with her husband, founding editor and publisher Phil Wilayto.
Ana managed a weekly farmers market as a nutrition education program an early childhood education center with its origins in neighborhood-centered social services. This was the first farmers market to work through the process of making SNAP bendfits, Food Stamps currency for fresh local foods. Before that, she was communications director for Homeward, Richmond’s coordinating agency for homeless services.
Ana Edwards also sat on the Future of Richmond’s Past Planning Committee (2011-2015) which produced and coordinated programming to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War and Emancipation. (more…)
Sunny Gardener What Wakes Me Up/Moccasin Tracks February 25th, 2025
Posted In: Local, Music Shows, News
What Wakes Me Up 8 Palestine Ali Jawhar on Bible, Koran, History, Culture and Future presents:
What Wakes Me Up 8 Palestine Ali Jawhar on Bible, Koran, History, Culture and Future
Jesus was said to be born in Palestine on December 25th so this episode is especially timely.
What Wakes Me Up this time is the plight of All the People in all the warzones around our tiny planet, but particularly the people in Palestine, one of the most beautiful, verdant and historically rich places on Earth. Ali Jawhar tells us about history and current life in Palestine. He lived and worked in the United States for decades, taught in Ramallah Friends School in Palestine, and now volunteers with an organization founded to help college students, the Charitable Society for Students of Northwest Jerusalem, aka The Student Fund, which provides tuition for students who need it, to keep students there while and after they study. Now there’s a good idea!
He suggests that the solution to the land conflict is to form a secular country where everyone votes. No religion rules, just people taking responsibility for their future. I can’t explain it like he does, so listen to Episode 8 of What Wakes Me Up on WRIR.ORG at noon on Christmas Day or in the archives anytime. Email or call me with any questions. [email protected] and 804-617-6312
Sunny Gardener December 23rd, 2024
Posted In: Local, Music, Music Shows, News
Tags: children, culture, education, Gaza, genocide, history, Istrael, leadership, Palestine, Peace, Ramallah, religion, school, solution, vote, War
What Wakes Me Up 7 Dawn Flores and Jack Johnson on Colfax Massacre presents:
What Wakes Me Up 7 Dawn Flores and Jack Johnson on Colfax Massacre
What Wakes Me Up once again is the continuing threat and actuality of censorship to uphold the racist tendencies of our culture and government, at all levels.
Spent some time in Studio Jay at WRIR with a delightful couple who’d just returned from a trip south to learn about one of the sad moments in our history, the Colfax Massacre.
Dawn Flores is an artist and educator, and I’d point you to Dawn Flores.com to explore her massive body of work, and see how she turns history, science and culture into Art.
Jack R. Johnson is also a historian and author whose recent book entitled In Black and White will be released soon. His work has appeared in journals, periodicals and blogs, and his Hidden Histories was part of the line up here on WRIR for years. He’s currently delving into the Colfax Massacre for his next historical fiction project. He and Dawn just returned from a fact finding mission to the site, and joined me in the studio to debrief and cocreate this episode of What Wakes Me Up.
Our theme music is Woke Up by Song Rise. New Orleans native Jon Batiste reworked the Battle Hymn of the Republic and this piece is called Freedom. If you’re not dancing, then get up and get started. Laissez les bon temps rouler, oui, Cher, de Nacodoches à Thibodaux à Vicksburg.
Sunny Gardener November 26th, 2024
Posted In: Fund Drive, Local, Music, News
Tags: black, civil rights, Colfax, history, music, racism, travel, white
Party of One: Dig Them 70s
We’re going to go from 1971-1981 today, one of the more drastic times in rock & roll history. Tune in for a fun pogo through the wilds of sonic aggression.
Tweet! @WRIRDJDustin or @WRIR
Call up! 804-649-9737
Dustin April 9th, 2016
Posted In: Music Shows
Tags: Dustin, history, Party of One, Punk, rock & roll, Saturday, timeline